Magic
by Serp
Summary: Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl crossover. Post TLC and HBP. Please read and review.
1. Research

Chapter 1: Research

Artemis Fowl was sat on the floor of the study, a wooden block held in one hand. 'Really, Butler, is this necessary?' he asked, handing his little brother the block. 'I am worried about their development. By the time I was their age I could at least spell "monumentally". It appears they can only manage simple words like "motion" and "station", yet I have been informed that they are learning these words at nursery, which suggests they are not getting much education outside of school. Perhaps I should give them extra tuition.'  
Butler sighed. Weren't big brothers supposed to teach their siblings how to play football, or how to tie their shoes?  
'Don't worry about the twins,' he said, 'Angeline and Juliet will look after them. You should be more worried about your own education.'  
'How many times must I tell people that I have no intention of returning to school? I am three years too young; although I have no doubt that I have already surpassed the students who used to be in my class. I see no point in me going to school when I learn better outside, and the sooner Principal Guiney realises that the better-' he stopped as the door opened.

Angeline Fowl stepped into the room, carrying Myles who was chewing a chocolate bar. She smiled at Artemis and sat down, in between him and Beckett. She put Myles on the floor next to her, and, as siblings are wont to do, he immediately picked up the blocks and smashed down the tower Beckett had been building.  
Artemis glanced at his mother, 'I told you that chocolate can make them hyper,' he said, 'It is not good for developing children, especially if you want them to get a good night's sleep.'

Angeline picked up one of the blocks, smiling, 'I remember trying to feed you chocolate from time to time when you were a baby. You would only ever eat the 70 percent cocoa stuff that your father hated. Sometimes I think this family is too deprived of sweets and chocolate. Everyone's supposed to love it. I feel like the only one in the family who wouldn't mind having a something sweet now and again.'

'So now we know where Myles gets it from,' Artemis said, standing up to take an Apple Mac laptop from the table. He sat back down again and opened the lid. 'Really, Mother, you spoil them.'

Angeline sighed. 'They let me spoil them, that's why. Aren't children supposed to always be asking for sweets and food and toys? You never did any of that when you were a baby. You just wanted calculators and microscopes.'

Artemis opened the Internet browser and checked his e-mail. Although only very select people had his e-mail address, Artemis checked it regularly. Holly or Foaly sometimes sent him e-mails about the daily happenings of Haven City. There was one such e-mail in his inbox at the moment. He clicked it open.

Dear Artemis,

_How's it going with the terrible twosome? I can imagine you practically ripping your hair out in frustration._

I've joined the LEP again, now that Trouble Kelp is Commander. He was the one who saved us from Sool when we stopped Opal Koboi's plan, if you remember.

How is everything going with Minerva?

I'll phone you soon, so keep the communicator on.

Holly. xx

Artemis smiled. Holly was once again back with the LEP and all seemed well down in Haven. He wondered what she meant by _"How is everything going with Minerva?"_  
He decided to write a reply later, when he had more time to think about how to respond. He had not phoned Minerva for several days. She was on a skiing holiday, apparently.  
'Is that an e-mail from Minerva?' Angeline said, watching Artemis' face, 'It's about time you asked her out on a date.'  
Artemis looked up. 'A date?' he said, 'I- Perhaps in a few weeks. I made a breakthrough with some of my research, and it cannot wait.'  
'Can't you take a break from your research just for one night?' Angeline said, watching Beckett spell "monumentally" with the blocks.  
'No. It is vitally important I continue. I cannot take a break.' Artemis snapped the laptop shut, avoiding his mother's gaze. The research was important.

'Not even for one night,' he said.

x

Artemis clicked from webpage to webpage, searching for something, or more accurately, someone. His deep blue eyes scanned the screen in front of him, looking out for any sign of information. He had learnt long ago that most of the things you read on the Internet were hoaxes and rumours, dreamt up by eager enthusiasts with over-excited imaginations, but this was different. He knew the feeling. There was a tingle in his spine; a ceaseless thought in his mind that maybe – just maybe – it was true. There were little telltale signs: freak hurricanes, unseasonable mist, gruesome murders and strange disappearances…

The Earl Grey in the teacup beside him had finally reached the level of coldness where a white skin had formed on top, creased by faint ripples. He glanced at it for a moment, wondering whether to get up and take it downstairs. He checked his watch. It was three am.

Artemis rubbed the sleep from his eyes and was about to shut down the computer when something caught his eye. He clicked the URL, and his heart sped up. Breath caught in his chest and his eyes widened.

'Amelia Bones,' he whispered, the monitor's light casting gloomy blue shadows against the walls. Anyone watching would have seen the boy tap the screen with a thin, pale finger. They would have heard the hard drive's whirr and the faint sound of the teacup tinkle. But if they were watching really, really closely they would have seen the glint in the blue eyes as the computer shut down. The light faded, and a smile appeared on Artemis Fowl's face.


	2. Heroes

Chapter 2: Heroes

_The boy ran up the steep steps that seemed to stretch away forever. He looked back, sweat dripping from his forehead, and came face to face with a man - a man with slits for eyes, pulling his wand backwards, his mouth forming lethal incantations. 'Avada Kedavra!' A green light and a scream, and Harry awoke, with a cold sweat trickling down his forehead. The scar burned white-hot._

Harry touched it gingerly. His stupid scar had been hurting a lot recently. It meant Voldemort was getting stronger. If that was even possible. Large, bold headlines had been splashed across the front page of the recent Daily Prophet, **"Mass Breakout from Azkaban! **7 Death Eaters escape!" That meant Lucius Malfoy was out there somewhere. Harry could just imagine him and Draco, standing in the centre of a burning Muggle village, twin smirks hidden behind their Death Eater masks.

He looked up at the ceiling. 12 Grimmauld Place had not changed: the walls were grubby with age, and the portrait of Mrs Black still screeched every time anyone walked by, but the people inside were very different. Fear had crept amongst them, and everyone was jumpy and frightened. Nobody, not even Harry, believed that they could win. Not without Dumbledore, at any rate.

He felt confused about what to do; about how to pursue Voldemort and his Horcruxes. He couldn't help but think that if only Dumbledore were still alive, he would be able to find a way forward, the path would become clearer, somehow. But Dumbledore was dead, and there was no one left who could help him solve the mystery of the hidden Horcruxes, except Ron and Hermione, who were each just as clueless as Harry was. How was he supposed to find the Horcruxes without Dumbledore's knowledge and guidance?

He turned over and forced himself to close his eyes. Every time he did he saw Dumbledore's body falling from the Astronomy tower, and felt the red rage searing through him.

He pulled the covers around him and tried to clear his head, but when he did he thought back to Occlumency lessons with Snape, and then of his father, and he saw Sirius falling backwards through the veil... He drifted into an uneasy sleep with vivid nightmares of Death Eaters and Voldemort. His scar stung.

x

The next morning, Harry awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs. He trudged groggily downstairs, and saw Mrs Weasley, cooking a large breakfast. Lupin and Arthur were at the table, whispering animatedly to each other, and Hermione and Ron were tucking into the scrambled egg. He sat down and pulled a rack of toast towards him.

'Good morning, Harry, dear,' Molly said, shovelling sausages onto his plate, 'I hope you slept well.'

Harry shrugged and picked up his knife and fork.

'We're going to Diagon Ally today,' Molly said, now frying mushrooms and tomatos in a sizzling pan, 'Most of the shops have been shut down, except Madame Malkin's, bless her. We've got to get Bill some dress robes for the wedding, and there some things we need to do at Gringotts.'

'It's a shame Flourish and Blotts closed down,' Hermione said, 'I could do with some new quills, and there aren't any other quill shops.'

Once everyone had eaten properly, everyone crowded around the fireplace. Arthur Weasley had gone to work, and Remus had buisness elsewhere, so the group consisted of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Mrs Weasley, Bill and Fleur.

'I have never liked zee Floo Powder,' Fleur said, 'Zee ash gets in my 'air and eet is so difficult to get out.'

Ginny rolled her eyes and practically pushed her into the grate.

The Leaky Cauldron was very nearly empty. Tom the barman was sweeping the floor and two men were sitting by in the murky shadows, drinking quietly. Harry remembered the first time Hagrid had brought him here, and how alive and happy the place had been.

He was scooted out into the courtyard by Mrs Weasley, as Bill was tapping the wall with his wand.

Diagon Ally had changed more than ever. Shop windows had been washed with white paint, and Ministry flyers were pasted on the walls. The faces of Death Eaters glared down at them from posters emblazoned with '_Have you seen this Wizard?_', and there was nobody in the street.

'Right,' Mrs Weasley said, turning to face them all, 'I'll go with Bill and Fleur and you four stick together.'

Harry looked at Ron, Ginny and Hermione as Mrs Weasley, Bill and Fleur headed off to Madame Malkin's. 'Where too first, then?'

'I need a new quill,' Hermione said, 'I mean, the one I have is a nearly year old and it's so blotchy.'

'Alright, then,' Harry said, 'But you said there aren't any other quill shops.'

'Um, the only other Quill shop I can think of... Well, it's in Knockturn Ally.' Hermione said, 'Well, ok, _technically_ it's on the corner, but we don't have to go...'

'Let's go,' Ron said.

The well-named Quill Shop was on the corner of Diagon Ally, turning into the shady Knockturn Ally. A little bell above the door tinkled, and a man appeared behind the counter.

'I'm sorry, can I help you?' he said. Harry stared. The man was so thin and tall and he looked like he had no muscles at all. His limbs were all longer than most people's, too, and his black hair was slicked back. He had a strange look in his eye, and he was so pale that Harry wondered whether the man had ever seen daylight in his life.

'It's ok, we're just browsing,' Hermione said quickly.

'This place is horrible,' Ron said when the man had gone, 'It's so claustrophobic, and everyone knows that shops on Knockturn Ally are dodgy.'

Out of the clogged-up windows, Harry could make out the dark exterior of Borgin and Burkes. 'You've got that right,' he muttered.

They left the shop quarter of an hour later. 'Where to now? Fred and George's?' Ginny asked, as Hermione put her new quill in her bag.

'Hang on,' Harry said, 'I'm going over there.' He began to walk towards Borgin and Burkes. Ron grabbed his arm, 'What're you doing? Have you lost it? You're Harry Potter. You can't go in there at a time like this!'

'Look,' Harry said, lowering his voice, 'Tom Riddle used to work there, remember? I probably won't be able to come back here any time soon, so I'd best make the most of it.' He wrenched his arm out of Ron's grip and strode into the shop.

The man Harry recognised as Mr Borgin appeared behind the counter. The oily man looked suprised when he saw Harry, but arranged his features into it's usual snide grin.

'Harry Potter,' he said, looking at the boy, 'What brings you here?'

'Tom Riddle... He used to work here didn't he?' Harry said as Ron, Hermione and Ginny entered behind him.

'It's dangerous asking questions like that these days, Potter,' said Borgin, 'Very dangerous. I'd have thought you'd have known better.'

'Just answer my question, Borgin.'

'Harry,' Hermione said urgently, 'We should go...'

'Take the Mudblood's advice, Potter.'

'Answer the question!'

'Don't you already know the answer?'

'Harry...' Hermione said, tugging Harry's arm as a hooded figure appeared next to Borgin. The figure lowered his hood and revealed the horribly familiar light blonde hair and pointed features.

'Malfoy!'

'Well well well, Potter, fancy seeing you here,' Draco Malfoy said, 'And the Mudblood too. How's life now Dumbledore's not around? I feel awful that I wasn't the one to deal that final blow but I was so young and naïve. I suppose we can't all be heroes, can we?'


End file.
